Archive for June, 2007

One of Brasil's most notable artistic exports, OS GEMEOS, the twin-brother art team that started their careers on the walls of Sao Paulo and migrated to the white walls of some of the globe's most desirable modern galleries, have a refreshingly low-key show of drawings opening at Sao Paulo's Galeria Fortes VilaÃƒÂ§a this Saturday nite, June 30th. Featuring 30 original small-format drawings, many of them studies for street murals kept folded in the pair's pockets and bearing marks of wear & tear (and the obligatory stray drops of spray paint), the show offers an intimate look at the creative process behind the pair's Herculean output. Visions literally pour out of the duo, day and night, and these worn scraps serve as mental notepads holding their visions in place until they can be Read More

Catching up with Supertouch's own RON ENGLISH in his Jersey studio, we got a first-hand look at the master's new huge-scale painting, "Dissect" featuring a very stripped-down Captain America before a background of some of his most patriotic comic strips. The phenomenal thing about this piece is that the background comic panels are entirely hand-painted and not a collage. Every single panel has been replicated with exacting detail by Ron, right down to the hand-lettered dialogue. While mere mortals would take months to complete such a task, our boy wrapped this monster manga project up inside of a few weeks. See it in person at his Read More

Stopped off in SF for a quick day trip and managed to drop by the ASIAN ART MUSEUM for their incredible retrospective shows on legendary Japanese artists and "Superflat" pioneers OSAMU TEZUKA and YOSHITOSHI. Best known for his legendary manga & anime character, ASTRO BOY, Osamu Tezuka is widely regarded in his native country as the God of Manga for his indelible impact on the genre (he created over 700 titles in his lifetime). Predating him is the legendary Yoshitoshi, one of the most accomplished and twisted practitioners of the ancient Japanese art form Ukiyo-e ("the floating world"), a style often thought of as the predecessor to manga. Both shows are fantastically curated and contain hundreds of original images and prints. In the case of Tezuka, the show is a rarity as this is the first one of its kind to appear outside of Read More

Film-Threat geeks and otaku cinephiles already worship at the altar of legendary underground director ALEJANDRO JODOROWSKY, but to the general populace, the Salvador DalÃƒÂ­ of cinema largely remains a phantom. Obscurity aside, the importance of this Russian/Mexican director and his influence on modern film (Quentin Tarantino might not have even been a video store clerk without him) cannot be overstated. The auteur's psychedelic & surreal visions turned the film world on its collective ear when they were released (his first film literally caused a riot) and John Lennon became such a devoted fan that he made possible the US release of the director's most accomplished work, a mystical western called "El Topo," and personally financed his third apocalyptic work, "The Holy Mountain." His visionary style directly influenced "Star Wars," "Dune," "Alien," and "The Fifth Element" all of which "borrowed" heavily from Jodorowsky's oeuvre. After giving up film in later years, the director went on to develop his own brand of psychological therapy called "Psychomagic," officiate the unholy matrimony of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese, and continue his Read More

This week is your last chance to catch an amazing show of works by controversial sculptor MARC QUINN at Manhattan's MARY BOONE GALLERY. Provocatively titled "Sphinx," the exhibit showcases an array of life-sized painted bronze sculptures (masterworks of the craft) of British tabloid queen and fashion icon KATE MOSS in a variety of yogic positions that ponder the notion of modern celebrity and spirituality. (For the Kate-obsessed, it's also a chance to ponder impossibly lifelike fantasy visions of the Read More

Street artists have speculated for months about the identity of a mysterious figure who has become known as Ã¢â‚¬Å“the SplasherÃ¢â‚¬Â because he or she hurled colorful blobs of paint at prominent pieces of art on exterior walls in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan.

The only clues left behind in the paint assaults were bold manifestoes Ã¢â‚¬â€ phrases like Ã¢â‚¬Å“destroy the museums, in the streets and everywhereÃ¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€ that appeared to critique the commercialization of art. Now it appears that there may be more than one Splasher, and those claiming responsibility for the attacks have offered additional information about themselves.

One hint came Saturday night, when several people showed up at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in Chelsea during a reception for the artist Shepard Fairey, who is known for his stenciled images of the wrestler Andre the Giant. They distributed a 16-page newsprint tabloid with the title, Ã¢â‚¬Å“If We Did It, This Is How It WouldÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve Happened.Ã¢â‚¬Â The cover was illustrated by a photograph of a piece of art by Mr. Fairey that had been splattered by paint.

The publicationÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s opening essay said that last summer, a group of Ã¢â‚¬Å“co-conspirators and provocateursÃ¢â‚¬Â began splashing paint on pieces of art, many of them created by street artists, like Mr. Fairey, who have achieved mainstream recognition. On another page, the groupÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s members said they had learned the location of a show held in early June by a street art collective called Faile and Ã¢â‚¬Å“subsequently penetrated their sanctum.Ã¢â‚¬Â During that show, a member of the Faile collective said, a stink bomb was ignited. Last Thursday, during a show of Mr. FaireyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s work in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn, James Cooper, 24, was arrested and accused of lighting a homemade stink bomb. Mr. Cooper, facing arson and other charges, has denied any wrongdoing.

The weekend's long gone and the final verdict's in (along with the photos) on SHEPARD FAIREY's big takeover of NYC and his "E. Pluribus Venom" show at JONATHAN LEVINE GALLERY on Saturday nite. Supertouch roving reporters Stuntboy, Ron English, and Steve Bliss supply the visual flashback. PEEP THE SCENE:Read More

To those in the know it may not seem possible, but after more than a decade of infighting and failed attempts at reunification under different names and with new frontmen, the legend that is the BAD BRAINS is back in its original lineup with a new album that's Ã¢â‚¬â€against all oddsÃ¢â‚¬â€ amazingly good. "BUILD A NATION" is the first record of new material since the group's last halfhearted attempt to reconcile in 1995. Featuring a singer (HR) so crazy he makes Lee Perry look straight and a lightning fast guitarist (DR KNOW) more metal than punk, the group is back to its old tricks, with a sound fans will remember from their accomplished "I Against I" period. Responsible for all of this is the Beastie Boy's Yauch, who single-handedly managed to pull the boys back together and keep them in check long enough to clock a full LP's worth of killer material in the studio. A legendary accomplishment if there ever was one. Look for the punk legends on tour this summer, before HR quits again, that is...

Following the arrest of an individual suspected of being the so-called "SPLASHER" at SHEPARD FAIREY's art opening in Dumbo, Brooklyn last week, whose attempt to ignite a smoke bomb in the crowded gallery was thwarted preemptively, it appears that some of Fairey's recent street-level wheatpaste installations have been "splashed," lending credence to the established idea that the culprit is a collective of individuals rather than a sole offender. It was discovered yesterday that Shepard's new "Giant" posters on Wooster Street's Candy Factory building had been freshly "splashed," possibly in retaliation against last week's high-profile incident. Says Fairey's gallerist JONATHAN LEVINE of the botched sabotage attempt, "We're not sure if the person we caught Thursday night is the 'Splasher,' but we're looking to prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law. When the police tested the smoke bomb the attacker was trying to ignite beneath a table surrounded by people, it released a four-foot-tall vertical flame that would have injured everyone near it." In the meantime, the battle rages on, and so does the splashing...